100 Years: A select history of the FDA

100 Years A Select History of the FDA 1906 Congress passes the Pure Food and Drugs Act, prohibiting interstate commerce in misbranded and adulterated foods, drinks, and drugs. 1912 Congress enacts the Sherley Amendment, which prohibits labeling of medicines with false therapeutic claims. 1938 After an elixir containing diethylene glycol kills 107 people in 1937, Congress passes the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), requiring that

Ted Agres

Dec 1, 2006 | 2 min read

100 Years

A Select History of the FDA

1906	Congress passes the Pure Food and Drugs Act, prohibiting interstate commerce in misbranded and adulterated foods, drinks, and drugs.
1912	Congress enacts the Sherley Amendment, which prohibits labeling of medicines with false therapeutic claims.
1938	After an elixir containing diethylene glycol kills 107 people in 1937, Congress passes the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), requiring that drugs be shown to be safe before marketing.
1949	The FDA publishes Procedures for the Appraisal of the Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, which comes to be known as the "black book."
1951	The Durham-Humphrey Amendment restricts drugs that can be purchased only with a prescription.
1962	Thalidomide is found to have caused birth defects in thousands of babies born in Western Europe, but is kept from US pharmacy shelves by an FDA official.
1970	The FDA requires the first patients'...

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